


the mirabilis miles project

by Justafan



Category: Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, they're all 16
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-09
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-08-14 02:45:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7995724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justafan/pseuds/Justafan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“ I'm going to launch the mirabilis miles project”</p><p>Everyone's jaw dropped.</p><p>For the first time in history Mr. Wentz saw an emotion on his boards faces that he had never been able to cause before: surprise</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

16 years ago.

 

“I'm starting a new project” he said with a grin, the rest of the board turned to him, a mixture of confusion and amusement on their face. He loved starting meetings off like this. 

“Oh God Wentz, what are you going to do now?” one of the group asked.

“Well, the last idea, it didn't work out too well.” one of them chuckled.

“Well it's not my fault the monkeys got addicted.” he snapped quickly.

“Of course not.” another added in “it's just that… You're ideas always seem to, you know…” the board member shifted in her seat. “Um…”

“Well, what is it?” he asked grinning. The board member was new and still didn't talk to him the way the others do, and he loved testing the poor girl of her boundaries. 

“They uh, fail miserably.”

He slammed his fist on the table, trying to keep a straight face at the terrified look the girl gave him, the others, used to this game, just sat, eyes narrowed.

“Mr. Wentz I didn't mean to-that's not- please just…” 

He burst out laughing and the girl flinched unexpectedly. 

“Do you know what, I like you. You,” he pointed at the girl “You're young say 20? 21?” the girl nodded “You respect me, I like loyalty. Yeah, I've decided. I like you.”

The girl visibly relaxed and let out a hesitant laugh along with a deep breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

“So it's a shame I'm going to have to kill you.” 

The girl looked at him speechless before two of his men emerged from the shadows dragging her by the arms out of her chair and into the next room, screaming and crying the whole way. The sound of a gunshot silenced her.

“So, my idea.” he grinned.

“ I'm going to launch the mirabilis miles project”

Everyone's jaw dropped.

For the first time in history Mr. Wentz saw an emotion on his boards faces that he had never been able to cause before: surprise


	2. Her blood's staining the carpet

Still 16 years ago

“the mirabilis miles project? That would take years...And there's no guarantee it would even work…”

“It would take 16 years and i'm about 99% sure that it works” he grinned.

“But Mr. Wentz… where would we even get the-the-subjects from?”

“Do you think I care about the details? No, because that is what I pay you for. All you need to know is that I'm launching this project and to that I will need: a place for the subjects to live where we can monitor them, the subjects to actually survive the trial… Oh, and 11 babies preferably around or under the age of 5 months

“Mr. Wentz, on the file it says that there can be up to 12 subjects, don't you want the last subject.”

Mr. Wentz looked down and across the table of nameless people in front of him.

“No, because I will be donating my own unborn child” even though throughout the years he had worked with these people he had never seen them surprised as of today, he had managed to surprise them once again.

“Mr. Wentz, you do realize just how dangerous this experiment is? If anything goes wrong, you'll be putting your child at a terrible risk.”

All he did in reply was laugh “So? If they die, the worst that can happen is the missus will cry for a bit and I would have wasted the huge amount of money that I invested in this project. So what? Anything can be replaced…Money, all of you” he looked down “this table, that chair your sitting on and even, my child.”

No one was surprised at that, at least no one showed it, because they were more surprised at the fact he was having a child than him gambling the child’s life heartlessly.

“You have 8 months to prepare the experiment, just as my child is born, then we will begin the procedure.”

“Of course, Mr. Wentz” they said in unison as he walked out the door, casually sidestepping the lifeless girl on the floor and stepped into an open and waiting elevator,  
“Clean that up would you?” he spoke to the guard outside the elevator “Her blood's staining the carpet.”


	3. Mr. Wentz is my father, call me Pete

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> let's meet the subject

16 years later

The cameras flashed unrelentlessly the minute he stepped into the podium the questions already being shouted out simultaneously until they become impossible to understand.

“Mr. Wentz! Mr. Wentz! Is it true you're inheriting your father's company?”

“Mr. Wentz, why were you kept secret for 16 years?”

“Mr. Wentz, is it true your father abused and experimented on you?”

The rush of questions were endless. He couldn't blame them, of course. Just a few months ago nobody knew he existed, the son of the richest man on earth just didn't disappear without someone noticing…

“Please, please. Settle down” he gave them a shark like grin, one not unlike his father's. “First of all, Mr. Wentz is my father, please call me Pete. Secondly, yes, I am inheriting my father's company and no my father... did- did not abuse me. My father… my father is- a gre- a good man.Why would you even think of such a terrible thing?” He could hear the lies catching on his throat, he saw the reporter scribbling on a notebook frantically and made a mental reminder to himself to not let her peace this building alive. 

“Pete! Where have you been for the last 16 years?”

“Now, if I told you that, I would ruin the surprise.”

“Pete! What will the new business be?”

“We will be going into medical supplies and cures, so we will be setting up labs and experimental facilities. Now I don't have time for many questions so, if you'll excuse me…” he walked off the podium and headed to the door, despite the outraged cries and frantic question of the reporters at a last desperate chance to get a story. As he reached the guard that was standing at the door, he leaned in and whispered “don't let that girl leave, the one who asked about Mr. Wentz.” All the guard did in reply was nod. Pete left and went in an open lift and pressed the 20th button, the highest floor, his father's office. 

“Mr. Wentz… I tried- but I don't thin- they might-” 

“They might what PETER!” his father roared “SIXTEEN YEARS I HAVE WAITED FOR THIS AND YOU- YOU'VE WENT AND RUINED IT!” his father didn't shout at anyone but him, it was as if he was only allowed to do it because of the blood that they shared.

His stormy expression suddenly calmed, which in it's own way was worse “You ruined that interview Peter.” he spoke with no hint of anger in his voice, as if his sudden outburst hasn't just happened, “You do realize that we will have to get rid of you once again.”

“No, wait. Father please, I'll be good. Don't send me back there.” Pete watched as his father stood up and casually walked over to him, an attempt of a clear smile on his face. 

Pete knew the slap was coming but he still stumbled back when his father's hand connected with the left side of his face.

“Never call me father, am I clear Peter?”

Pete nodded.

“Good, now you will return to the institute and we will have a quiet funeral for Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz the 3rd, who died when the Wentz family manor went up in flames.” Pete nodded once again.

“When you go back to the institute, I want no more mistakes to be made. We only have 6 experiments left after someone,” he glared accusingly, “helped the others escape. Hopefully they will be returned to us soon. Goodbye Peter.”

Other fathers would have given him a hug, a handshake or even an “I love you, son” Pete had never had those things. Really he would be ignorant to anything that normal fathers do if it wasn't for the books he read. It was the one thing the institute allowed him to do. Reading was the only comfort and the only love he had ever been shown. A glimpse at the real world that existed, just beyond the harsh concrete walls, the electric fences and the cruel guards that surrounded him. So no, Pete was not shown affection as a farewell from his father, instead, one of his bodyguards gripped his right arm and twisted it back while dragging Pete out the room and up the stairs to the roof. 

Once on the roof, Pete ignored the pain in his right arm and the left side of his face as he made his way to the waiting helicopter, the guard not close behind. He didn't hesitate as he stepped inside the luxurious machine, with the comfy leather seats and calming aroma. 

The institute wasn't terrible, if you were to see it. Though only few did. It wasn't some rundown,hospital like place, where they kept you strapped down in a bed with straight jackets at the ready. No, that wasn't the way it is. The institute was instead a lifeless place, deprived of all happiness and comfort. Pete shook his head at the thought and instead focused on the window as the helicopter started rising.

He may as well enjoy the scenery, as it was most likely he would never see it again, the institute didn't have views, the walls stopped that.

As he looked down at the city he wondered what it would be like, to live here and to have grown up in a normal home, with a mum and a dad, to go to a real school instead of having a robot like private tutor come in and make you sit and write for 8 hours at an uncomfortable white table and chair. He wondered what it would be like to be normal...

When the helicopter had landed he awoke with a start, oh no, he had missed the ride, fallen asleep of all things. And now he would never get to see it.

The helicopter door opened and a lady with a pale face in plain all white clothes stood there.

“Peter,” she said with a smile that didn't agree with her eyes “How wonderful to have you back.”

“Hello matron,” he said with no attempt at a smile, he was suffering enough having to go back to this place, he wasn't going to put himself through the torture of pretending he was fine. 

“Now, out you get” she said and he quickly complied, you don't disobey the matron. “I trust, I don't have to tell you to behave, do I? That stunt you pulled last year was the last of your petty rebellious streak?” 

Ah, yes, last year's incident. The talk of the institute, probably. The 5 subjects that mysteriously disappeared, it was me of course. To tell you the punishment I got for that would be to give you nightmares for the rest of your life, I had the scars to prove it. In all honesty, I hadn't even met the people I released and the only regret I had, was not succeeding in releasing them all. I hated this place, and the fact that there were 11 others sharing my horror? It made it 100 times worse, so I released them, without anyone noticing and I haven't told a single soul how, even if it meant a year of torture, eventually they'd given up and focused on finding the ones who had escaped which totaled to 5, the others had been caught before they made it anywhere far. I doubt that they had ever left the institute before, so I was surprised to find out that they all had attempted to escape. I mean, I had opened the door but that didn't mean I expected them all to go through out. After all the institute was all they knew. Their whole lives had consisted of these endless corridors, however dark and cold they may be. 

I had been separated from them at an early age, I had my own floor, the basement. When we were younger, babies, we had been all together but whilst the rest of my fellow infants had been making progress with their “abilities” I had not. My father, not wanting to waste his offspring but at the same time knew it wasn't going to work, started a new project, so I was moved to the basement.  
The experiments that they did to me were new and untested, but I was considered the throwaway so they done it to me anyway. After enduring months of injections, each one different from the rest, my now six year old self finally made progress. It was a surprise to everyone really, but I had developed an ability and it was stronger than the others. After finally discovering my ability I quickly went from a throwaway to a leader.

And then I met my father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea what I'm doing with 1st, 2nd or 3rd person, you just have to follow and not get lost


	4. the man who had forgotten how to smile

When I was 15, I left the institute and spent a year with my parents at their manor. My mother, whenever she saw me, shuddered and walked in the other direction. To her I wasn't even human. I remember once asking her why she couldn't even look at her own son and she replied "You are no son of mine". My father however, took a keen interest. He spent a year teaching me to run the business and even without having lived a normal life before, I knew what he was doing wasn't normal. I wasn't as ruthless as he was, even with my powers and isolated childhood. So the year was the only time I got let out of the institute, my father decided that I wasn't fit to run his company and I got shipped back. Thus, here I am. However, I will never forget that year, despite my father's warped idea of a family, I got to experience life. I watched as much TV as possible and read twice as much. 

“Peter!” I felt my head being whacked by the baton that the staff always carried, “Were you even listening to me?” the matron asked. 

He hadn't been, but he still apologized quietly and lowered my head. Everyone he had ever known had beat him into submission, now all they needed to do was raise their voice, but of course that wasn't stopping anyone, if his father's people see one toe out of line, they cut it off.

“You will go straight to lessons after freshening up in your room, if you so much as blink in the wrong way I will make sure that you won't be able to move without wincing for the next week, am I clear?”

“Yes matron, of course matron.” he said obediently.

He went down the long cold corridor, the stark white walls harsh on his eyes which were still adjusting. It was funny how fast a year went outside the walls and how slow fifteen years in here went. He approached his room and upon reaching the door, the familiar sound of the steel electric locks opening reached his ears and the door opened silently. He stepped in without a glance behind him to see the matron undoubtedly following him. 

Once he was full inside the door swung shut and the steel electric locks bolted once more. Even when he was alone in this silent, soulless hallway leading to the bedroom and the toilet, at the same time he wasn't as he was never alone, the 4 cameras on each corner of the room were constantly watching him. 

He went to the toilet and splashed water on his face,then went to the bedroom. The bedroom was all white, just like the rest of the institute. A single white bed, with a glass bedside table, a white cupboard that held his white institute clothes and a white bookshelf.the only thing that held colour was his books. His books, both mentally and physically, were the only colour in his life. He had a range of different books with different themes but he is what you would call a hopeless romantic, he always believed he would be rescued from this place, however when it happened it hadn't been what he had expected and it hadn't been long enough. He quickly got changed, remembering the matrons threat and once more went into the hallway and approached the door. It opened and he stepped out, the matron already there and ready to escort him to his lessons.

After briskly walking and a few warning nudges from the baton whenever he slowed down, a few minutes later they arrived at his lessons room. It opened with the same unlocking sound and Pete stepped in, the matron not following.

The tutor sat at his desk, chewing on his pen and looking down at his notebook beside his laptop. Pete’s desk sat a few feet away, where it was facing the tutor, Mr. Martin. Mr. Martin was an old man, with thinning grey hair and a resting somber expression. The man, it seemed, had forgotten how to smile a long time ago. As if suddenly realizing Pete was there, he raised his head and laughed a cold, dead laugh that didn't quite reach his eyes.

“So you're back, huh Peter? About time too. It was only a matter of time before they brought you back. Now sit down.”

Pete obeyed silently, avoiding eye contact, focusing on the workbook and pen in front of him.

“Turn to page 273”

Pete did this in an obeying silence, this was the one person he didn't want to annoy.

“Read question 1 and answer.”

Pete read silently “After reading to kill a mockingbird, what do you believe the main themes are?”

Pete raised his hand and Mr. Martin sighed “We have only just begun, what could you possibly be stuck on.”

“I'm sorry sir but it says that you have to have read to kill a mockingbird and I haven't read that yet.”

“It does?” he looked down at his own workbook “Oh, yes, it does. I will go fetch it from the storage closet down the hall, don't even think of moving.”

He left the room and Pete stared glumly down at his pen. It would have been easier if he had just stayed at the institute his whole life because then he wouldn't have anything to miss, the only thing of the outside world would be in the books that he read. But he had tasted freedom, he knew what the sun looked like when it rose in the morning and fell in the evening, he knew how the cities were vibrant, full of sound and colour. He knew it all and had experienced it all, yet it wasn't enough. He longed to go back there and if he hadn't had been there to begin with, there would be nothing to long for. It was the cruelest form of torture, giving him everything then taking it away before he could see it all…

Mr. Martin walked back into the room, but he still hadn't got the book, he sat back at the desk and looked at his notebook curiously, then started flipping through it.

Pete cleared his throat and raised his hand and Mr. Martin looked up at him with a surprised look on his face “What?”

“Sir, did you get the book.”

“What book?”

“To kill a mockingbird, sir”

“Oh! Um, right well,” he looked confused for a moment and then said “Yeah, we're not doing that anymore.”

“Then sir, what am I getting a lesson on? Are we not in English right now?”

Something seemed to click in his tutors mind “Oh, a lesson, that's what's happening here!” his face went rigid after saying that “I mean, of course we're having a lesson, I knew that.” he said hurriedly.

“Sir? Are you ok?” Pete was seriously starting to get confused.

“Yes, I'm fine, just feeling a bit under the weather.”

Pete was getting really confused but then the tutor did something that shook Pete to the core.

He smiled at him.

It was a genuine, friendly smile that made Pete fall out his chair in alarm. The tutor stared at him with a mixed expression of shock and curiosity. “Get up please and continue your work.” he then turned to his laptop and started typing frantically.

Pete got up and returned his chair to an upright position, then calmly sat down and eyed his teacher,

“Who are you and what have you done to my tutor?” he asked in a calm voice.  
The person that looked like Mr. Martin abruptly stopped typing and looked up at him, eyes widening in shock, then tried to pass it off with a shaky laugh “What-what do you mean by that?”

“You're not Mr. Martin and you're not any of the other staff so who are you?”

“What makes you think i'm not Mr. Martin- I mean, uh, me?”

“Because Mr. Martin doesn't smile, none of them do.” Pete said

“Do you smile?” the lookalike tutor asked.

“I'm not one of them.”

“Then who are you?”

“My name is Peter Wentz”

“Wait, what? You're Pete Wentz? shit-Shit!” he reached into his white coat and withdrew a phone, he tapped some buttons and then brought the phone up to his ear.

“Listen, listen! Change of plan, Pete’s fucking here Frank! What am I meant to do? Yeah it's him, i'm staring right at him. God, just put Gee on. Gee? What should I do? How long are the cameras out? Ok, ok I can work with that. Send Stump in, would you? And I need Brendon to be in the exact position, ok? If this all goes to shit, I'm blaming you Gee. So what do I do with him? Yeah, yeah, that's good. So send stump in early and send him to sleep. Yeah. See you on the other side Gee.”

He put down the phone and took out a pen drive from the laptop that I hadn't even seen get put in.

“Come with me. Now.”

“Where to? And who are you?”

“You don't get to ask questions, come on!”

“No.”

“You really think I'm giving you a choice?” and then he pulled out a gun.

“Now, go.”

Pete stood up and walked towards the door, the armed man following close behind.

“The doors locked” Pete said.

“Brilliant observation skills” the man said with sarcasm, then placed a hand on the door.

Pete watched as the indestructible bolted shut door turned into a plain wooden one and the man reached over pulled the handle down and opened it. Immediately Pete ran out and as far away as he could get from the crazed twin of his tutor. After brief hesitation, the man ran after him, surprisingly fast for a man in his mid sixties.

“Shit!” he heard the man say close behind him “Stump! START NOW!”

Almost instantly he heard it, first just softly in his ears, a voice just above a whisper, as it grew louder he could identify it as singing and he found himself stop running and fell to his knees, the sweet sound in his ears making him sleepy...so...sleepy...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's really bad but you don't really need to read it, I just enjoy writing it.


	5. Don't make me relive yesterday's memories

He awoke with a start and a splitting pain in his jaw. He was tied to a chair in a dimly lit room. He blinked, trying to focus his vision and raised his head slowly...Whack! His head was knocked to the side as a fist connected with his face “Huh, I guess he's awake.” He was vaguely aware of the mysterious person leaving the room by the sound of a door opening and shutting.

Wow, could that guy hit, Pete had been hit countless times by an unlimited range of people and weapons, yet none of them could compare to that guy's fist, it was as hard as iron and it felt as if Pete had broken all the bones in his face. Ow. 

He must have passed out again because he was wakened once more by a punch, the same strength and pain that the first one had been 

“Wake up, Wentz” a guy sneered, the same person who had hit him the first time.

“Frank, that's enough, stop it.” 

“What do you mean, Gee? After all his family have done to all of us, does he not deserve to die painfully?” 

“Just calm down Frankie, okay? Send Ashley in, maybe troye as well.”

“Troye won't be able to look at him, he's too soft hearted to look at anyone hurt let alone be the one doing the hurting. 

“I won't make him do anything, I'll just use him to make sure that Pete here is telling the truth.” 

“Okay Gee, I'll go get them,”

He looked up to see a small black haired man walk out of the room through a steel door, facing the chair he was strapped in. There was another chair across from him, where a young guy with bright red hair sat. 

The room he was in looked clean but dark, no windows and 1 steel door. Apart From the metal chairs there was nothing in the room.

“So, Wentz” the red haired man said, he sounded intimidatingly confident. “My name's Gerard and you are going to answer everyone one of my questions or I will make you suffer, do you understand?”

Pete nodded as he couldn't speak with the blood in his mouth.

“Speak” it was a command and Pete knew from experience that you never let a command be said twice 

“ye-yes sir” he tried to say as blood spilled out his mouth 

“Hold on a minute” he took a rag out of his pocket and put it under Pete's mouth “spit the blood out,” pete did so without hesitation. “Good, now let's get started. What's your name?”

“Peter Lewis Kingston the third” 

“And wh-” his words were cut short as two people entered a girl and a boy. The girl had short black hair that faded into blue and was wearing tight ripped jeans with a black t-shirt and black combat boots. The boy looked younger had short brown hair, an innocent looking face with similar black clothes.

The girl spoke up first “was that Frank that messed up his face? We should probably get Mel in here. How dare you Gee, ask for troye to come when Peter's sitting there looking like that! You know how he feels about violence” at the mention of that Pete did notice unnaturally pale this “Troye” boy had gotten when he had looked at Pete. Gerard replied sounding less intimidating than he had before “I'm sorry Ashley, I wasn't thinking, Troye go get Mel, I'm sorry you had to see that.”

A small voice replied “It's okay,” before Troye was practically running to the door.

“Before you came in, I was about to ask Peter why he was in the institute.” Gerard said, the intimidating voice returned “Well?” he asked.

Pete was confused “I-uh- live there,”

Ashley spoke first “Stop bullshitting us Wentz, you didn't live in the institute.”

“But I did, I swear!” 

“Stop. Lying” Gerard’s voice was little more of a growl.

“I'm not lying.”

The door opened once again and a girl appeared alongside Troye. The girl had long wavy hair that was half pink half black as well as the similar black clothes but faded pink converse. She looked at pete with fear in her eyes,

“What happened? Why would you let Frank do this, Gee?” she ran forward and crouched beside him and touched his face, he would have found the gesture odd, had it not been the sensation that he felt. Even though just moments ago his face was agony, now he could hardly feel a thing. After a moment she lowered her hand but the pain had gone, it felt as if it had never even been there to begin with. Mel gave him a warm friendly smile, something he didn't get fairly often, then stood up and stood beside Troye and Ashley, who were standing behind Gerrard's chair. They all looked at him thoughtfully. 

“Uh, I don't mean to be annoying but I just got out and I'm really tired, do you mind if I go back to my room? I will come back if you need me again,” Mel said happily. Pete thought that she ought to have been the happiest person he had ever met, which wasn't a tough competition when he grew up around his father's people. 

“Yeah of course you can, just call us if you need anything, alright?” ashley's voice had gone softer and seemed more comforting. It sounded strange considering her harsh tone a moment ago. Mel waved goodbye to them all, even Pete, and then left the room.

“Let's try this question again, why were you at the institute?” Gerard’s voice sounded impatient.

“I told you I live there,” 

“Troye, is he telling the truth?” Pete didn't know why Gerard was asking Troye that but gerard seemed to trust him. Troye looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, “Yes, he's telling the truth.” 

Ashley looked surprised “Why did you live there?”

But Pete couldn't answer because Gerard interrupted “I don't want to be here all day waiting while he tells his life story. Troye, can't you do that mind information thing? Transferring his memories to ours?” 

“Yeah I can,” then he started walking towards Pete and raised his hand to touch Pete's head.

“Wait, what are you doing? Stop, whatever you're doing or going to do, just stop!” 

But then suddenly it was as if he was going through his life again, reliving each memory for a split second, he remembered the endless torturous experiments as a child. Him strapped onto the lab bed getting needles injected into him as he screamed into the gag they had put on him. They had never put him to sleep, he had to endure hours and hours of chemicals being dripped into him day after day, for a whole 9 years of his life, they had stopped at 13 because he had gotten to old to alter. But he still remembered it and i'd was as if he was living it once again.

Troye removed his hand from Pete's head and staggered back and it took a moment for Pete to realise that troye was crying, as Ashley pulled him into a tight hug her face stricken with worry, Gerard didn't know what to do, so he asks softly “Troye, what happened?” 

Trout regained his composure and started weakly describing what he saw “I felt it, the pain, there was so much pain,” he broke off, looking at Pete as his eyes welled up with fresh tears “Who could do such a thing? You were just a child, 9 years of pain. Why?”

I didn't answer, not let my face show emotion, I felt my heartbreaking for this young boy as he had had endured my whole nine years at once, and he was unprepared and unaware as to what would happen to him if he tried to enter Pete's mind.

“Troye, can you give us the memories?” Ashley asked, her gentle voice returning once more, Troye just nodded and walked up to them placing his hands on both of their heads, no doubt filling their minds with my memories. After a brief moment Troye lowered his hands and Gerard and Ashley looked at Pete in disbelief.

“I'm so sorry,” Ashley said, her soft voice finally being directed at him, “I'm so, so sorry,” 

Gerard just shook his head “All this time, when you were first brought here I wanted to kill you. I thought that you deserved to die just from being in that family. I let Frank beat you up because I thought that's what you deserved.”

“Um, as touching as this moment was, can you untie me, please? And perhaps tell me where I am?”

Ashley looked confused for a moment “Oh! Yes of course,” she ran behind his chair and began undoing his knots as she talked “this is the sanctuary, it's a place where the institute can't find us, a bunker of sorts, we're the other eleven experiments. We grew up in the institute together, we had it bad, but never as bad as you. One day we were in the dining hall when suddenly we just all appeared on the other side of the wall, our tracking and power stopping brackets gone and no guards after us. We ran as fast as we could before the alarms started,some hid while a group of us kept running.” She broke for a moment, “the ones who ran got away, 5 of us Me,Gerard,Frank,Brendon and Patrick. We ran so much and when we stopped Brendon grabbed us all and teleported to as far as he could see. He can only teleport to the place he's at or the places he's been before, that's how we knew it couldn't have been him who let us free.”

She finally undone the last knot and stood up “There all done, now y-”

“It was me,” Pete said.

“What was you?” Troye asked.

“The person that helped you escape, it was me. I let you free and believe me, I regretted not doing it sooner and I hated myself for letting 6 people get caught,”

“You… you helped us escape? When you didn't even know who we were ?” Gerard asked in astonishment.

“Uh...yeah?”

“Dude, you're fucking awesome.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's bad and it's sad and it's alI I have!


	6. Chapter 6

“Dude, you're fucking awesome.”

“I mean like literally, fucking, awesome. Who would have known that-”

Frank violently swinging the door open interrupted Gerard’s disbelieved speech,

“Why is he out of the rope?” he asked whilst raising his fist in the direction of Pete’s face.

“Wait! Stop.” Ashley said, “He’s innocent, he's an experiment too but he got treated worse,” she looked away, “much worse.”

“Oh shit,” Frank said, “Sorry for smashing your face in, dude.”

“It's cool,” Pete said. He was used to it, after all.

“Okay, all is forgiven, everyone's friends, and Gerard I need you.” Frank said.

“Oh God,” Ashley covered her eyes, “Stop sinning for once in your horny little life, Frank.”

“I don't need him in that way, Ashley. We're gonna do a supply pickup. Everyone’s in the living room except Mel”

“Yeah I'm coming,” Gerard said, “Ashley, show him around. Troye, get some rest, you've only just escaped the institute after all. Come on Frank let's go.” they started towards the door “Oh, and welcome home, Peter.”

“Call me Pete,” Gerard smiled and left the room.  
He had one. 16 years of his life and he'd never had one before. A home.

Troye shyly waved at them both and said “Nice meeting you, sorry I had to go through your head but I have to ask, how did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Block your memories like that, it was as if I knew they were there but I couldn't reach them,”

“What? I didn't do anything.”

“It's just that I- I mean it seemed like-uh...never mind, I'm gonna go take a nap. Bye.”

With a small smile, he left the room. Ashley turned to him, “So I guess you want the grand tour, huh? This place is all underground, so you won't see any windows, made and reinforced with steel. Built like a bunker, can survive anything, Frank punched one of the walls when he had a bitch fit and even with his strength, didn't even dent it.” she started towards the door, it's got like, a million and one rooms so please don't wander too far, we haven't even mapped out the whole thing ourselves yet.” Pete joined her in the doorway and they walked out together, immediately coming into a long hallway with multiple doors ending with a black spiral staircase, leading downwards and another leading upwards.

“So this room is at the end of the hall as you can see, and is on the 2nd floor down, it was just a bare room and we haven't really decided what to do with it yet. On the left, those 2 doors lead to the kitchen and dining room. We don't have much fresh food but we’ve got enough tins and noodles to last a decade. The dining room is really fancy though but we keep it locked and open it at either meal times or if we have a formal meeting, which doesn't happen often.” she opened the kitchen briefly and Pete saw two large ovens with stoves on top as well as a line of counters and shelves with a various assortment of cooking equipment.

“On the right side there is the training room, it's open 24/7 and it's the biggest room in the sanctuary, hold on, there might be someone in it right now.” 

She opened the heavy steel door with ease and walked in, the room was very large with a long, thin black mat in the middle. The light was stretched over a strip in all the walls as if glowing, and there was several black punching bags, various exercise machines and weights. 

“Done any training?” she asked as she looked across the room, “in the institute, we had a similar room.”

“Yeah, it was one of my classes.”

“Good, we need all the fighters we can get. Let's go downstairs then maybe we’ll see the others,” she walked towards the stairs going down “Upstairs is the only way in or out of this place, it also has the garage, just a few motorcycles since we can't afford much and we don't really need to use transport when we have Brendon. Shall we?”

She and him went down the stairs and came to an identical hallway to the one up stairs, two doors on the right evenly spaced out, and another two on the left,spread far away from each other.

“The two on the left, the closest one is the living room, and the other is another spare room. The spare rooms are just empty and are really only used when someone needs to cool down or be alone. Oh and Patrick uses it to sing because it's soundproof and it apparently has good acoustics, on the right there's the library and study, Mikey and Mel are total bookworms so they mostly stay in there and that's always open as well. Everyone else I think, is in the living room so you want to go meet the other freaks?”

Pete grinned, he liked Ashley, the way she went through the tour described who she was as a person, fast paced and straight to the point. She could be as cold as ice and harden herself whenever she needed to be, yet can be as warm as a hug, well probably, he'd never had a hug before. 

“Let's go meet the others,”


	7. Shall we dance?

As soon as Pete and Ashley entered, 7 heads turned towards them.

 

The living room was huge, with 2 couches, 3 arm chairs and a massive bean bag in one corner.

 

On one of the couches, two guys sat beside troye, one with flaming red hair and the other with short curly brown hair and he was wearing a flowery kimono along with the signature black clothes they all seemed to be wearing.

 

On the other couch, two other boys we're seated, they looked angry at each other and yet sat so close together, one had hair so dark the brown almost seemed black and the other had light brown hair. The one with the dark brown hair was bouncing his left leg up and down, and his fingers were tapping out a frantic rhythm on his knees.

 

On one of the armchairs, a man sat with his legs crossed, his glasses almost falling off his face as he looked up from the book he had been reading.

 

The person that interested Pete the most, however, was the boy sitting in the armchair in the corner of the room, the furthest away from the rest of them. He was dressed in all black, just like the rest of them, but he had his shoes off and had his leg drawn up to his chest, sitting curled up in the chair. His hair was soft and blond, his eyes were peculiar. In certain lights they we're blue, but the had a ring of yellow in them to give them the illusion of being green. He looked shy and innocent. He looked beautiful.

 

“Hi guys!” Halsey said, eager to introduce everyone and break the tension in the room “This is Pete, i'm sure Troye explained so i'm not gonna bother. Pete, this is almost everyone, Mel’s in her room and you've already met Frank and Gerard. So let's meet everyone else.”

 

She turned to face the couch where Troye and two others was sitting, “You've already met Troye and the others are Tyler and Josh. on the other couch the one that basically won't stop moving is Brendon and the grumpy looking one is Ryan.”

 

Brendon gave them a bright smile whilst Ryan managed to look even sulkier.

 

“The one in the armchair is Gerard's little brother Mikey. He won't go anywhere without a book. And finally we have Patrick.”

 

Ah, so that was his name, Patrick. It suited the young boy who was shyly smiling at them both.

 

“So, quick introduction over.” Ashley then turned to face Troye. “What are you doing out of bed?”

 

Troye’s face turned an embarrassed red and his eyes couldn't quite meet Ashley, “I just wanted to tell the others about Pete, sorry Hals.”

 

“Go to bed Troye,” she didn't sound annoyed, her voice was gentle almost motherly, despite her hard soldier like appearance.

 

He got up waved goodbye to everyone and left the room with a yawn.

 

“Alright!” brendon shouted suddenly, standing up abruptly, “welcome to the gang dude, now let's see what you can do.”

 

Everyone groaned, “not again, Bren. you just want to show off.” Ryan said grumpily.

 

“He wants everyone to show their powers, then he shows off about how great his power is. He does this all the time, even though he knows what all our powers are.” Tyler helpfully explained.

 

“To the training room!” Brendon promptly ran out of the room.

 

Despite their obvious reluctance, everyone got up and complied. Pete was the last to leave, but he turned around when he realized Patrick was still sitting, “Are you not coming?”

 

“My power isn't that interesting.”

 

“I would like to know what it is.”

 

“You wouldn't want to know.”

 

“Please.”

 

Once it had been made clear that Pete wasn't going anywhere, Patrick sighed and stood up. The first thing Pete noticed was Patrick height. Pete was small himself, he admitted, but Patrick was tiny, and Pete was almost a head smaller than him. Together they left the living room and went up to the training room. Even tough it was now filled with people it still seemed massive. They were all standing around and talking, except for Ryan, who was sulking in a corner. Brendon was practically vibrating. Brendon saw them enter and grinned, “Finally!” he walked over to the large black mat in the middle of the room. “This is the ring, we practice our powers here or we have one on one friendly matches to improve our combat skill.” he raised his voice enthusiastically, “Everyone ready!” their was reluctant nods and murmurs. Brendon looked straight at Pete.

 

“Very well then. Shall we dance?”


End file.
